'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎137r] (278/610)

239
Lastly in accordance with the Anglo-Persian convention
of 1919 an Anglo-Persian military commission was assembled
at Tehran in 1920 and drew up a scheme for the formation of a
Persian army. It recommended the gradual formation of an
army of 70,000 men, and an abortive start was made in June
1920 when British officers were appointed to the 2 Central
Brigade, but were soon afterwards withdrawn owing to the
objection of the Cabinet of Mushir-ud-Dauleh to the employment
of any British officers or advisers so long as the agreement
had not been ratified by the Majlis and was legally invalid.
Such is the record of foreign military missions in Persia,
none of which have achieved any great measure of success and
many of which have been egregious failures owing to “mutual
jealousies of the European powers, unstable finances and short
comings in the national (i.e., Persian) Character.” No scheme
of military organization in Persia which fails to give control
over the finances and so secure regular pay for the troops, and
a free hand to the foreign officers to make appointments and
promotions and check patronage, has any chance of success.
Meanwhile since Path All Shah the Persian army has gone
from bad to worse. During the reign of Nasir-ud-Din there was
still some show of a regular army, of 150,000 men according
to the official lists, but in actual fact very much less.
In the Anglo-Persian war of 1856-7 a force of some 10,000
Persians ran away from 300 British on the Karun and in 1860
a Persian force gave an exhibition of cowardice before Merv
Turkomans. The army was, however, sufficient to maintain
order internally throughout the country until its decay was
completed by Muzaffar-ud-Din, whose extravagance emptied
the treasury and left no money for* pay of troops, and since the
constitution it has practically ceased to exist.
Existing Armed Forces.
Chapter II of the Report of the Anglo-Persian Military Com
mission, 1919-20 is entitled “ Review of Persia’s Existing Armed
Forces.”
It begins :—
19. The existing armed forces in Persia, excluding troops of
foreign powers composed of foreigners, consists of a motley
collection of variously organized, variously administered and
variously trained bodies of men which have grown up partly as
* The army had little existence except on paper and the military budget
served mainly for provision of salaries and opportunities of peculation for
princes and royal favourites.